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- Album Songs recorded during this session officially appear on the Abbey Road LP.
- Studio:
- EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Timeline
More from year 1969
Some songs from this session appear on:
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About
On this day, from 7 pm to 12:45 am, work continued on John Lennon’s “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and the basic track of Paul McCartney’s “Oh! Darling” was recorded.
“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” had been recorded at Trident Studios from February 22 to 24. The Beatles had added some overdubs on April 18. On this day, conga drums played by Ringo Starr and a Hammond organ played by Billy Preston were overdubbed onto what was called take 1 (on track six).
At this stage, “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” was considered complete but John decided to add more overdubs on August 8, 1969.
“Oh! Darling” had been rehearsed numerous times (on January 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 22, 23, 27 and 31) during the “Get Back” sessions in January 1969. On this day, The Beatles decided to properly record it.
They recorded 26 takes of the backing track, with Paul on piano (track four) and guide vocals (track six), John on guitar (track five), George Harrison on bass (track one), Billy Preston on organ on some of the takes (track three) and Ringo on drums (track two).
Take four, with Billy Preston on organ, was released on “Abbey Road (50th anniversary boxset)” in 2019.
Take 26 was deemed the best. The first overdubs would be added on April 26, wiping Billy Preston’s organ in the process.
At the end of the session, a stereo mix was made in the control room for Paul to review.
Last updated on December 28, 2021
Songs recorded
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Recording • Take 4
Album Officially released on Abbey Road (50th anniversary boxset)
6.
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8.
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11.
12.
13.
14.
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20.
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22.
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26.
27.
28.
Staff
Musicians on "Oh! Darling"
- Paul McCartney:
- Piano, Vocals
- Ringo Starr:
- Drums
- John Lennon:
- Guitar
- George Harrison:
- Bass
- Billy Preston:
- Hammond organ
Musicians on "I Want You (She's So Heavy)"
- Ringo Starr:
- Conga drums
- Billy Preston:
- Hammond organ
Production staff
Going further
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions • Mark Lewisohn
The definitive guide for every Beatles recording sessions from 1962 to 1970.
We owe a lot to Mark Lewisohn for the creation of those session pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details - the number of takes for each song, who contributed what, a description of the context and how each session went, various photographies... And an introductory interview with Paul McCartney!
Solid State: The Story of "Abbey Road" and the End of the Beatles
Acclaimed Beatles historian Kenneth Womack offers the most definitive account yet of the writing, recording, mixing, and reception of Abbey Road. In February 1969, the Beatles began working on what became their final album together. Abbey Road introduced a number of new techniques and technologies to the Beatles' sound, and included "Come Together," "Something," and "Here Comes the Sun," which all emerged as classics.
If we like to think, in all modesty, that the Paul McCartney Project is the best online ressource for everything Paul McCartney, The Beatles Bible is for sure the definitive online site focused on the Beatles. There are obviously some overlap in terms of content between the two sites, but also some major differences in terms of approach.
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